My Story - Page 3 - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

Godsblessedme · 09-19-2009, 11:08 AM

Keep up the wonderful work!

poet_kelly · 09-29-2009, 03:55 PM

So here is the latest in the ongoing saga of Dr. Idiot. I called them a couple weeks ago and asked them to send me copies of my latest lab work. They had already told me over the phone that everything was fine except my vitamin D, which was low, but I wanted a copy of the report so I could make a spreadsheet of all the numbers like Corrine keeps saying we should all do. Well, a week went by and I never got it. Which did not surprise me, because they are terribly unorganized there. So I called them back. Then I was told they didn't have any lab results for me.

I said, What do you mean you don't have them? You did have them, because you gave me the results over the phone. Did you lose them? Well, apparently they lost them. Which annoyed me greatly. So I called the hospital where I had the labs done and asked how I could get a copy. They said I could just go right over and pick on up. So I did. They didn't even charge me for the copies. While I was at it, I got the labs from six months, too. So I can compare.

Well, I got home and looked at the report. My vitamin D was NOT the only thing that was abnormal. My hematocrit was high, my alkaline phosphatase was high, and my thiamine was high. Now, I did not know what any of that meant. I thought about calling the doctor's office and asking them, but I was not hopeful that they would be very helpful. You know, since they first told me everything but the vitamin D was fine, and then lost the lab results, and all. So I tried to look that stuff up on line.

The hematocrit has to do with red blood cells. Mine was only a little bit high. Apparently that can be a sign of dehydration. I'm wondering if it was because I hadn't had anything to eat or drink for 12 hours before having the labs drawn?

Alkaline phosphatase has to do with your liver and gall bladder,apparently. If it's high, that can be an indication of gall stones. It can mean other things, too, but I did have gall stones at the time. So I'm wondering if that's it. Here's the thing that kills me, though. I had these labs done in July, when I first went to this doctor complaining about nausea. I asked him then if it could be my gall bladder. And apparently my labs suggested I might have gall stones! And he still kept insisting the problem could not be my gall bladder. Which of course it turned out to be my gall bladder. After I suffered for six weeks, before he finally ordered an ultrasound. Argh! I was so mad when I read that.

I can't figure out what the high thiamine means. If your thiamine is low, it might mean you have anemia or a problem with your bone marrow. But I can't find anything that says what it means if it's high. As far as I can figure, it doesn't really mean anything. But I don't know.

I have appointment with my PCP for something else on Friday. I'm going to ask her about these three things and hopefully she can tell me.

I was so annoyed by all this that it inspired me to start calling doctors to try to find a new one that takes my insurance. I had no luck so far. But I plan to make some more calls tomorrow.

Mike says I should write the state medical board about my surgeon. I might. They won't do anything. I mean, he hasn't done anything illegal or really even unethical. You're kind of allowed to be a bad doctor, really. But maybe I'll complain about him anyway. It might make me feel better. And I guess it could impress upon him the need to do some things differently, although I really doubt that.

Kelly

mistymee · 09-29-2009, 04:18 PM

Kelly, they may or may not do anything..but you never know. I've wrote letters in regards to two different doctor issues.. one for incompetence that could've caused serious medical issues for my then 9 month old son and one for a doctor that was just so mean & rude and shouldn't have been in practice anymore.

In the 1st case, I had the doctor in charge of the ER at the second hospital I brought my son to baced me up with my letter (she actually encouraged me to write it, his care was that substandard) and there was an official censure put in his record and he was put on probation.

And in the second case, the HMO that employed the mean/rude suggested he retire and he did.. so your letter can have an impact.

Good luck finding out what all that means.. I share your frustration with some in the medical field.

poet_kelly · 09-29-2009, 04:27 PM

I did file a complaint with the medical board regarding another doctor, several years ago, that I felt acted very unethically towards me. They investigated him. They went to his office and met with him and discussed the situation. They ended up not being able to do anything to him, but I imagine it caused him a fair amount of stress, which made me feel a little better.

So yeah, I may write a letter about this surgeon. You know, I don't normally hesitate to write letters. When I'm happy with the care I receive, I write a letter. Like, I wrote the hospital where I was treated for pneumonia after my surgery. They were just wonderful. And I wanted to give them that feedback. So I don't just complain all the time. Even though it may sound like it. But when there is a problem, I don't normally hesitate to let people know that, either.

I do plan to write the surgeon himself a letter explaining why I will not be continuing to see him, and I plan to send a copy to the hospital he is associated with. I actually wrote the letter already. I'm just not gonna send it until I find another doctor.

I also wrote reviews of him on several websites where you can write a review of a physician.

Kelly

ChrissyChris · 10-01-2009, 01:12 PM

I really wanted to thank you for sharing your story. It is always great to know that someone understands what I have been through in the past. It took courage to share and I appreciate that. I am glad that you are doing so well now and I hope that you continue to stay stronger. I too was on Effexor and the weight just piled on. However unlike you I had always been on the heaver side. I knew that the meds made me feel so much better, better that I had felt in a LONG time so I dealt with it. I tried starving and working out like crazy but I kept gaining. So Effexor led me to WLS. I am now on different meds and feel wonderful but as you know most still have the weight gain issue. I am excited to better my health with WLS and continue on my meds.

poet_kelly · 10-01-2009, 01:17 PM

Chris,

I'm sorry to hear you've had the weight gain from meds, too. It's very frustrating. When I worked really, really hard, I was able to stop gaining on Effexor and just maintain, but that was it. I could not lose anything, no matter what I did or how hard I tried. I am still on Effexor, because it's the only med that has really worked for me, and I've tried many. Like, almost all of them. My surgeon was a little surprised that I'd been able to lose as much as I have on Effexor. But so far I am still losing and doing well. My hope is that, with the help of the surgery, I'll be able to lose enough and then I can do my part to maintain it. I don't like living without the Effexor is an option for me.

Kelly

ChrissyChris · 10-01-2009, 01:27 PM

Thanks Kelly. I truly understand why you stay on Effexor and am happy to be a support system for you if you want. I understand where you are at and what you go through. I was petrified when my new doctor (I had a insurance change) told me she wanted to take me off Effexor….I came real close to trying to find another new doctor. I am very fortunate that the new med works wonders and doesn’t seem to be as bad with the weight gain. I have faith that you will be able to lose enough and maintain so that your mental health does not need to be effected. Keep your head up and reach out when you need support. God Bless.

poet_kelly · 10-02-2009, 01:32 PM

I saw my PCP today for a pap smear (fun, huh?), and I was asking her some questions about the labs I had done in July because the surgeon who ordered them was an idiot and they lost the results and... well, anyway, I had questions and hoped she could explain them to me. And she did. I have an appointment with a new bariatric surgeon in December and I wanted to have labs done again before then so I could discuss them with the surgeon at that appointment, but the new surgeon's office said they couldn't order labs for me until they saw me. So I asked Arica if she would order them for me. I took a list with me. She was happy to. I was going to wait to have them done closer to December, but for some reason she wanted me to go ahead and get them drawn right there, so I said OK.

So the phlebotomist was having quite a time trying to figure out which tubes to use for all these different labs. It ended up being ten different tubes. And she asked me about why I was having so many tests done. So I explained that I had a gastric bypass last year and they have to check for different vitamin and mineral deficiencies and stuff. And she said, "You had a gastric bypass?" And I said, yes, I did. And she said, "You don't look like it. I never would have guessed." Well, what does someone who had a gastric bypass look like? I mean, if it was successful, you pretty much look like everyone else, right? But I know she meant it as a compliment, and I took it that way.

She got the other phlebotomist's attention and told her I'd had a gastric bypass and asked her if she would have guessed. And she said no, she wouldn't have guessed either. Then she congratulated me for not having loose skin under my neck. She asked how much weight I'd lost and if I had loose skin other places. I said a little but not too bad. She told me about some woman she knows who had a gastric bypass and lost almost two hundred pounds and had to have 20 pounds of loose skin removed. Then she told me about someone else she knows who had a gastric bypass but has gained all of her weight back and now you'd never know she ever had surgery, and said she thought that must be very depressing.

They both told me I look great, so I said thanks. It was kind of weird. I could feel uncomfortable about the conversation, but I don't think I do. Like I said, I know they meant it as a compliment, so I took it that way. It was just kind of interesting.

Kelly

SLRteach · 10-03-2009, 08:38 AM

Kelly,
Thank you so much for posting your WLS journey. You are a determined and inspiring gal.

Stay strong and keep us posted. I have learned so much from you. Thanks

poet_kelly · 10-25-2009, 05:27 PM

Well, I have decided that I am filing a complaint with the state medical board about my surgeon. Not the one who did my RNY, the one I saw after he closed his practice, the one who took out my gall bladder. Finally. I was very angry that it took him so long to diagnosed gall stones and felt he was a very poor doctor because of that, but I wasn't going to file a complaint, because I understand that there are only certain things the medical board can actually do anything about. Basically, a doctor is allowed to be a bad doctor. Taking a long time to make an easy diagnosis is not malpractice. It's not illegal. It's not even unethical. It's just being a bad doctor.

What made me decide to file a complaint is the fact that they lost the results of my blood work, which I don't think is actually illegal or malpractice, either, but I think is pretty serious. I mean, how are they losing your medical records? And then when I got a copy of the results from the hospital, I saw that there were abnormal results on the report that they did not tell me about. They had told me everything was fine except my vitamin D, and that is not what the lab report said. That is unethical, not giving a patient the results of their tests. I don't know, maybe it is even illegal.

So the medical board will investigate. I filed a complaint with them once before, about a different doctor. They ended up not being able to take any action against that doctor, but they did investigate, and I was satisfied with the way they handled things. This surgeon will be notified that he is under investigation, and who knows, maybe there have been other complaints against him? And at least I can feel like I am doing something.

Kelly